We planned on staying here longer, but Lagos just wasn’t happening for us.  the weather did not help any as it was overcast and drizzly most of our time here.  With a 5 day sail to our next destination, we decided to cut our time short here.

Believe it or not, the marina was full, so they put us at the reception dock.  This turned out to be a better deal for Sea Rose as we were right at the foot of the bridge that leads into town.

Looking back out the entrance to the marina with the town of Lagos on the right.

There were some nicely tiled houses.  Apart from that if I closed my eyes and listened, I could have been any where in England.  A lot of English OAP’s here. (Old Age Pensioners- for our American friends).

We stopped in the “Fools and Horses” pub for a drink trying to lift the mood.  We raised a few pints and smiles, but then….

…Teresa and Carolyn wanted to be any place but here.

We made the decision to leave for Tenerife tonight, so Teresa was off to the market to provision for our 5 day trip.

Pigeons and Guinea Pigs were not on our menu!

No bell peppers at the market, so off to the grocery store in the drizzling rain.

At last bell peppers for the Teresa’s special dish.

We departed Sines for Lagos under 5 knot winds and calm seas.  Sometimes in sailing you have to run the motor, so we motored the entire way there.

It was a very relaxing trip.

Capt. Dave chilling.

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Carolyn sunbathing.

Teresa reading.

We caught another seagull.  That’s the second one on this trip.  Fortunately, we were able to release him unharmed, but still hungry.

Cabo de Sao Vicente.  The southwest corner of Europe (and Portugal). We’re almost there, Lagos is just around the corner.

Teresa trying to relive the Titanic. Let’s hope not!!

We turned the corner.

Another sunset at sea and another harbor entrance at night. Yikes!

We were half way to Lagos when the seas and winds started building up with lightening in the far off distance, so we decided to play it safe and pull into Sines (pronounced cinch) for the night.

Sea Rose tied up in the Sines Marina.

Nice public beach in town with the marina in the background. Not too many tourists this time of year. The beach is empty except for some seagulls.

Carolyn and Teresa standing in the courtyard of the Casa de Gama.  Little did we know, but the great Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama was born here.

Me with Sea Rose in the background just next to my right elbow.

Looking down a town street with a view of Sea Rose in the marina.

Sines is a quaint and quiet little town.

A statue to the memory of the great Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama, over looking the harbor and sea.

Teresa and me hanging with Vasco.

Teresa and Carolyn at the castle wall above the marina bay.

Even the beach is dedicated to Vasco de Gama.

After a week in Cascais we are sailing off to Lagos with great wind conditions.

Teresa at the helm.

Me, in my FC Porto jersey supervising Teresa at the helm.

The dolphins were kind enough to pay us a visit.

Great sunset at sea. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.

Pena Palace in Sintra. UNESCO World Heritage Site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_National_Palace

Front entrance to the Palace.

Intricate detail in the stone work.

Inside the Palace walls.

Magnificent tile exterior.

Ornate window decorations.

He looks angry like a guy who just chipped the gel coat on his new boat.

Carolyn and Teresa (in the distance) on the wall walk.  This small walkway goes along the entire outside of the Palace.

Interior vestibule decorated in ceramic tiles.

Close-up of all the tiles in the previous photo.

Carolyn with the Atlantic ocean in the distance.  Pena Palace had great views out to the sea.

Me coming around the turret on the wall walk.

Teresa with the Moorish Castle on the peak in the background.  We’re headed there next.

Pena Palace was originally a monastery and expanded from there.

Just down the road on the next mountain top is the Castle of the Moors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_the_Moors

Teresa and I Inside the Castle grounds.

My niece on the walls of the Castle of the Moors with Pena Palace in the background.

Teresa had to make it to the top first. Go get ’em Mighty Mouse!

Great view over the valley.

Me, with Teresa blending in with the rocks.

Now for the long bus ride back to the marina.

The days not over without a stop in the local pub before retiring.

Wow, we just had one hell of a storm blow through Cascais.  We knew it was predicted to be windy today, but nothing like this.  55.3 knots of wind!

This tanker, the Tokyo Spirit appears to have lost its starboard anchor in the storm and has run aground just on the other side of the marina sea wall.

http://www.fleetmon.com/newsroom/2015/9823/teekays-suezmax-tokyo-spirit-aground-lisbon/

The tanker is just outside Marina Cascais, the Sea Rose can be seen inside the marina and the Tanker just outside.  The waves were crashing and breaking over the wall and drenching us.

This tanker started dragging its only anchor again and slid down the outside wall of the marina.  It was very impressive to see something that big out of control.

Tokyo Spirit’s AIS details and status. 902 feet long

Sea Rose didn’t escape without its own bruises.  She suffered gel coat damage to the port stern hull.  Now we need to find a skilled person to repair it which means DELAY.

Teresa and Carolyn (niece) posing on the boardwalk on our way into town.

Carolyn and me entering the Cidadela

Teresa trying to use the binoculars in the Cidadela courtyard.

The Cidadela…

The red tree is not real, but the people are.

Probably the nicest view from a mall food court.

Leaving the local mall.

Quick stop at Santa Marta while on our way to the Club.

The only thing hot thing in the Heat Club were these two lovely’s.

I needed a cold beer in such a hot place.

Cascais, Portugal is our third stop on the way to St Lucia.  We’ve covered a lot of water in the last 13 days.

Our first evening in Cascais. Teresa outside the Cidadela (1580-1598) walls.

Carolyn’s cabin awaiting her arrival.

Carolyn has arrived and will be with Sea Rose for the next 20 days. Yeah!

Teresa and Carolyn enjoying a libation after dinner.

Teresa and me in the streets of Cascais.  This is quite a swanky little town.  The St. Tropez of Portugal.  Historically, since Portugal was one of the few neutral countries in WWII, this is where all the royalty from the invaded countries exiled themselves to and built their palaces until the war ended.

The weather finally cleared and the Guarda Costeira opened the harbor entrance after being closed for the last 60 hours. We can now leave for Cascais.

Early morning in Douro Marina, on departure day.

Capt. Dave and Teresa preparing Sea Rose for our departure.  While they’re doing that I’m taking last minute pictures.

Sporting my FC Porto jersey with Teresa.  I wore it to a restaurant and every waiter in the place made a point to stop by our table and compliment me on my attire.

We had to stare at this bridge all day and night for the last 5 days in Porto.  The lights at night were amazing.

Porto in the rear view mirror.  Next stop Cascais

Cabo do Roca just before our arrival at Cascais.

We had a little visitor land into the fly bridge while at sea.  I guess he got tired and needed to rest his weary wings.

I forgot to post Teresa’s trip to the Laundromat on day 2. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, so in the end she sent it out to be washed.

The public Laundromat.  Looks like only one washer is being used right now.

Most of the dryers seem to be in use though.

It was raining today, so we visited another Port House.

The vines grow on terraces in some extremely rocky terrain, but it works!

The large barrels produce the ruby ports…

…and the small barrels produce the tawny ports.

We’re expecting to leave Porto tomorrow, provided the port entrance is open.  It’s been closed the last 24 hours due to weather.  Worse case scenario, we’ll visit another Port House.